The summertime performances of Mozart’s Missa in C Minor KV 427 at the Collegiate Church of St Peter are deeply rooted in the cultural life of the city of Salzburg, having a long tradition: since 1927, the Missa has been performed by the Mozarteum Foundation Salzburg in cooperation with the Salzburg Festival. The tradition was initiated by Bernhard Paumgartner, who also conducted the greatest number of performances (a total of 31). He was followed by many renowned conductors, for example James Levine, Hans Graf, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Leopold Hager, John Eliot Gardiner, Ivor Bolton, William Christie, Marc Minkowski or Yannick Nézet-Séguin. Apart from (post-) wartime interruptions in 1940 and from 1942 to 1949, the Missa in C Minor has been a fixed part of the Salzburg Festival programme. During the first years, the instrumental ensemble was composed of members of the Vienna Philharmonic and the Mozarteum Orchestra (or rather its predecessor); from 1935 to 1991 the Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg provided the instrumental foundation. Since then, various orchestras have performed for the event, most frequently the Camerata Salzburg and the Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg.

This summer, Mozart’s Missa will be performed no less than twice at St Peter’s, as an exception to the rule, and the performers will be musicians from the Simón Bolívar National Youth Choir and the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra under Gustavo Dudamel’s baton. Of course, both ensembles will drastically reduce their numbers compared to Venezuelan standards, thereby paying homage to Salzburg’s resident genius, Mozart.